


Football And Freaks

by regionals



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-22 21:23:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11975301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regionals/pseuds/regionals
Summary: Josh, captain of the football team, meets Tyler, the captain of their school's drama club, and suddenly things with his pretty cheerleader girlfriend aren't so perfect anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> guess who's back with a brand new track (fic) got everybody in the club goin mad  
> it me  
> anyways i just  
> similar to endless i dont like how a show handled something so im redoing it except better  
> also like... im a hoe for fics like this

"I am _not_ joining _drama,"_ Is the first thing out of one young Joshua Dun's mouth the second he's inside of the guidance counselor's office, eyes alight with teenage anger, finger tapping against a table as he speaks as if to punctuate his point. "I'm a _football_ player. I play football. I do _not_ act."

"Well, you're acting dramatic, so I'd say you're off to a good start," the guidance counselor responds coolly, eyebrows raised ever so slightly on his forehead as he finishes up what he'd been doing on the computer in his office. "It's just for a semester. The teacher who used to teach wood shop, which is what you were going to take in the first place, I believe, managed to cut three of his fingers off, so he's out of commission for the time being. You need an art credit anyways, and drama isn't so bad."

\---

Josh is the image of the quarterback stereotype. He slouches down in a chair near the back of the choir room, arms crossed over his chest, frown etching its way into his face as he taps one of his feet on the floor. _Everyone's going to think I'm gay for being in here. Fuck that._

His cheeks start burning slowly as more and more people file into the room. There's more people taking drama than he thought. He figured there'd only be maybe five people, but there's a room of fourteen at the moment.

What makes this entire situation worse is the fact that it's the fourth day of school. Everyone's already picked their little cliques to stick to, and friend groups have already been made up. Josh is there, alone, and out of his element. All of his friends are taking different electives, electives that he'd much rather be taking, but here he is, sitting in the choir room, waiting for the drama teacher to make an appearance.

Josh pays no mind to the guy that sits next to him, aside from giving him a once-over, mostly since he doesn't really give a shit about the guy, but also because the teacher is walking into the room, tucking a stray strand of sunflower gold hair behind her ear, and setting a clip board down on the podium that's in the center of the front of the room.

The teacher stretches, and lets out a slightly obnoxious yawn that's charming in a way. She makes a few marks on the chalk board, and by the time the bell rings, _"_ _Drama Club_ _Auditions,"_ has been written on the board in pink chalk. _Oh god._

Once everyone is seated, the teacher speaks, "Alright, well, given that there's a few new faces in the crowd today, I'm going to introduce myself. I'm known as Ms. Black, but you can call me Jenna, Jen, Black, Blackberry, Blondie, or whatever else both fits your fancy and is also PG."

"Since you made everyone else give introductions, why don't you make the new kids give introductions?" Cue the person who is now at the top of Josh's shit list, piping up from wherever their place is in the room.

Josh curses his luck, because, unfortunately, Miss Black is saying, "That's a perfect idea," with a sweet smile on her face. He can't even tell if she's being serious right now. Is it a good idea to her? Is it _really?_

Josh curses his luck, yet again, when he's being chosen to introduce himself first, since his last name starts with a 'd,' and since he was the first _new person_ on the roll list to have their name called. He keeps his introduction short and sweet. "I'm Joshua, but I'd prefer Josh, and I just need an art credit."

His classmates don't look very impressed with him, but who cares. He doesn't give a shit. He just has to tough it out until January, then he'll be fine.

Once all of the introductions have been made, she starts in on the topic that's been written down in the chalkboard. "This afternoon is the first afternoon that there will be auditions held for the actual drama _club_. The only difference between the class and the club is that either of them focus on different things, and also that you have to actually audition for the club rather than just sign up and join. Think of the class as a glorified acting class, and the club as the place where the good stuff happens."

She continues talking for a few more minutes before telling everyone to partner up, and to discuss something or other—something that Josh doesn't pay close enough attention to for him to even catch. The point is, though, he watches as everyone else finds someone to partner up with, whereas he's sitting there in his secluded and dark little corner, alone, and without a partner.

At least, until the kid next to him is slowly letting his head roll to his left to face him. Josh immediately hates this kid. Not because he's ugly or weird or something like that, but because the second they make eye contact, he feels _something_ in his gut that he hasn't felt before, and it makes his hands run cold.

"I'm the only good actor in here, honestly. Wanna be partners?" _And_ he's cocky. He has an eyebrow raised and Josh finds himself nodding unsurely as the other boy is running a hand through his hair.

Josh learns that his name is Tyler once they're sitting in an actual corner. "You gonna try out for the club?" Tyler asks him. They're supposed to be doing _something,_ but apparently Tyler doesn't give a shit about the actual assignment, saying something about how it's not even for a grade.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm only here because I need an art credit, and since the fucking counselor couldn't find something else for me to take other than _drama."_

"You should try out. Might help you channel some of that pent up teenage angst somewhere." Tyler shrugs and picks at the bottom of his shoe. "You're in football, right?"

"I'm wearing my varsity jacket." Josh has a _'duh'_ sort of look on his face.

"Okay, well, you're in football. Football season ends in December. What are you going to do after football ends this year? I think you should join drama club, because as someone who was in it last year, it's definitely worth being in. You have to have the balls to dress up in ridiculous outfits and perform on stage, but it's still nice to have a year-round sense of family and belonging.

"Sounds lovely and all, but I don't want people thinking I'm queer," Josh responds quietly with a condescending little smile on his face.

"Are you straight?"

"Of course I am."

"Then who cares what people think? If you're straight, then you're straight. People thinking you're gay won't change that. Also, grow up, dude. It's 2014. Straight guys can be in drama without being labeled as gay. It's alright." Tyler rolls his eyes, _definitely_ not looking impressed with Josh.

"What all do the auditions consist of?" Josh mutters, seemingly to appease the other boy, but also because he's actually sort of curious. He doesn't necessarily _want_ to be curious about it, but... it couldn't hurt to know, of course.

"Well, last year... I had to sing a number, then one of my friends read lines with me in front of Jenna. It wasn't really that complicated or scary, honestly. Of course, I'm spectacular at singing and pretty freakin' great at acting, so me getting into the drama club was a cakewalk. For you... I'm not so sure."

"And how do you know it wouldn't be a cakewalk for _me_ to get into it?" Josh has a tongue in his cheek and a pointed look on his face. He thinks he's being clever, but he's wrong. Tyler's the clever one.

Tyler knows what he's doing. Tyler's _baiting_ him. "You're just some _dumb jock,_ right?"

Josh doesn't realize that this is exactly what Tyler was going for; spite is exactly what Tyler wanted out of him. "You know what? Fuck you. I'm auditioning for that stupid drama club, and I'm going to get into it like I get a football across a field."


	2. Chapter 2

Tyler stops in front of the _Clubs & Activities _cork board in the hallway to check the sign-up sheet for the drama club.

_Me... Of course I'm at the top. Then there's Brendon, who's obviously a given, and... Pete? Huh. Didn't think he'd have it in him after last year's fiasco. Then there's that one girl who sits next to me in biology. Ugh. She's a bitch. I hope she sucks. And... Josh! A-ha! My plan to manipulate him into trying out has worked. Fuck yeah._

He's proud of himself, to say the least. He thought Josh would've been smart enough to _not_ fall for the good ol' bait trick, but he obviously _wasn't_ smart enough for that. Tyler just smirks and adjusts the collar of his button up before poising himself and walking away from the cork board.

\---

"You have a fair point, but I think all of us are really missing out on Kesha's real talent, y'know? Tik Tok aside... Have you _heard_ the deconstructed version of Die Young? Like, without the whole synthy upbeat pop vibe, her lyrics are totally deep." Tyler's swaying his fork around with his right hand, accidentally sending almost microscopic drops of spaghetti sauce flying in whichever direction. He's pretty passionate about Kesha.

He's about to continue his rant, but one of his friends interrupts him by getting him in the bicep with an elbow, saying, "Look over there," while pointing.

Tyler's eyes follow the direction of his friend's finger, up until they're landing on _Josh,_ who has his girlfriend under his arm as he's eating lunch.

"Isn't their PDA kinda gross? I'm sure if _I_ had a boyfriend--"

"Brendon, if you had a boyfriend, you wouldn't be balls deep in Tyler's ass trying to catch every lead he doesn't get, yeah?"

Tyler accidentally spits his drink out at that and starts cackling. "Ashley, honey, I _love_ you. Please don't ever change." He's grinning and reaching across the table to take her hand in his, bowing his head slightly as if he's worshiping it. "That, hands down, has got to be the best _Brendon Drag_ ever."

"Who even started the whole 'Drag Brendon' meme anyways?" It's the first time Pete's spoken in a bit. He asks that around a mouthful of shitty homemade pizza, eyebrows slightly raised as he looks back and forth between everyone at their table.

"Fucking _Ryan."_ Brendon lets out a long suffering sigh and trows a napkin down onto the table. "Like, he starts this stupid _meme_ of all of you being mean to me, then he transfers to fucking... Wherever the hell he lives now. Who the hell does he think he is?"

"Satan, if we ask you, apparently."

"Well? He was one of our best actors, and he was the Booth to my Bones. I think I reserve the right to be salty about him transferring and then cutting off contact with all of us, _Tyler._ Anyways, at least I'm not shooting my big ass moon eyes over at jock-block and the Whore Of Babylon over there."

"I ain't shooting moon eyes at him. I just think he's funny because he acts like him getting put into the drama class is the end of the world, yet he's going to fucking audition for the club this week. Also, be nice. At the very best, she's a two dollar street corner hooker. Don't disgrace the Whore Of Babylon like that."

Ashley whistles lowly. "Debby is _quaking._ Just doesn't know why yet."

Tyler snorts and shakes his head. "We should quit being catty fags before they hear us."

\---

The class Tyler has directly after lunch is _drama._ He has drama, and _this week,_ he's stuck with Josh as his partner for an assignment. It's nothing major--just learning how to _act,_ basically, and Tyler's had it up to _here_ with Josh.

He can't fucking _act._ Alright, alright, he's not the worst Tyler's ever seen, but when Josh is reading from a script, he sounds like he's, y'know, reading from a _script._ He doesn't sound like he's actually _there,_ in that _scene,_ and it's pissing him off. "Dude, you can't keep sounding like you're in a fucking infomercial. Like, you're not trying to sell shake weights here. You're trying to convince me that you're surprised, actually surprised, and not like you're faking it. Jesus."

Josh sighs, loudly, and tries again. He recites the line, almost exactly the same as before, then says, "If you don't fucking like how I talk, then do it yourself."

"I can already do it my damn self. You're just... Terrible. Christ. You're trying out, and you can't even act like you're surprised to see me?"

"I play _football._ I don't _act."_

\---

Aaand then later that day, during homeroom, Tyler's just minding his own business, lurking in the group chat he has with his friend group, when Josh decides to come up to him and tap him on the shoulder. If Tyler had to describe his look in one word, he'd say _sheepish._

"What do you want, Jock-block?"

"I need you to help me with the audition."

Tyler's egotistical and cocky. He likes that Josh is basically feeding his ego right now by asking for his help. "What do you need help with?"

"All of it. I--I think I got the singing part down, but I can't actually act worth a shit, according to you. You're obviously better at it than I am, so I'm coming to you."

Tyler turns is phone screen off, and stretches slightly before responding. "Wanna come over this afternoon then? I'm free for once, since my audition was yesterday."

"Did you get in?" Josh runs his hand through his hair, which is short, brown, and fluffy. Tyler can't deny the fact that he has an urge to touch the other boy's hair himself.

"Of course I did. You didn't answer me."

"Um... How late am I allowed to come over?"

"I live in a big house. As long as it's not after midnight then we're good, I guess." Tyler taps his fingers against the table he's at. He's near the back of the room, and he sits alone, mostly since there's hardly anyone else in his homeroom class. "You got football practice today, right?"

"Uh, yeah. That usually finishes around six or seven. That's why I was asking."

"Alright. How about after football practice," Tyler starts as he's grabbing a pen from his shirt pocket, and tearing a piece of paper from a notebook page so he can scribble down his phone number, "you call me, and I'll come pick you up so I can help."

"I--I guess that works. Um. Okay. I'll do that." He's so fucking _awkward_ yet _adorable_ and Tyler just... wants to laugh at him, for whatever cruel reason. It wouldn't be a mean laugh, though. It'd be one of those, _'Aww, he's adorable,'_ kinds of laughs.


	3. Chapter 3

"So..." Debby's using that stupid fucking cutesy tone with him, and Josh really wishes she'd quit doing that. She's his girlfriend, though, so he just quirks and eyebrow and waits patiently for her to continue. "What are you doing after practice?"

"Uh... I'm going over to that Tyler kid's house so we can, like... work on a project." _Close enough. I mean, technically it could be considered a project, at least if the project were him teaching me how to act within a day._

"Are you sure that couldn't wait?" She pulls her bottom lip up between her teeth and tries her best to give Josh doe eyes that, last year, would've made him melt within a few seconds. Right now, though, he's feeling more or less indifferent.

"I'm pretty sure it can't wait, babe." To avoid having to talk further, Josh takes a drink from his water bottle. Like, a really long drink, and he side-eyes her, waiting for her to continue the conversation.

"C'mon." She reaches for one of his hands, and intertwines their fingers. Her other hand is in her jacket pocket, and the next thing Josh knows, she's standing on the tips of her toes so she can whisper, _"I'll suck you off if you come home with me."_

Josh is always a sucker for a blowjob. (Pun not intended.) At least, he's a sucker for them when the person giving them doesn't freakin' suck at it, which Debby does. She knows how to look like a porn star while giving a blowjob, but she doesn't know how to actually make it feel good. Josh prefers the actual feeling of a blowjob over how it looks.

"Next time, alright? He's probably already on his way here to pick me up anyways. I just sent him a text about ten minutes ago."

She looks disgruntled and _not_ happy, and Josh can tell given the attitude she's suddenly copping. _Ugh. There goes the rest of my week. I'm going to be so busy kissing her ass._

\---

"Ooh, Joshua, lookin' _fine."_ Tyler's smirking and looking a little predatory, and Josh can't tell whether or not he's for real. He doesn't actually have a problem with queers, even if he doesn't quite get it.

"I'm still wet from the five minute shower I just took," he mutters.

"Good to know my powers of seduction are still working fabulously."

Josh blanks for a few minutes before Tyler's remark _clicks_ in his head. He scoffs. "Shut up. You know what I meant."

Tyler just smiles as they're walking towards his car. Once actually seated, and once seatbelts are buckled, Tyler's asking, "What's our game plan for this evening?"

"Can we just say 'fuck it' and do whatever? I have no idea what we're supposed to do. All I know is that I'm singing a song tomorrow and that I need to _act."_

Tyler nods, and waits to respond until he's pulling out of the school parking lot. "What song were you thinking?"

"Don't Bring Me Down. I've been on an ELO kick lately, so I figured that one would do. What did you audition with?"

"I wanted to shoot myself the entire time, but I auditioned with Some People from Gypsy, and I went back and forth with Ashley on a little something something we whipped up. By that, I mean we did a scene from Grease. Her as Sandy and me as Danny, of course."

"Which one is Ashley? Is she in the class?"

"Uh, no. I mean, she's in the class, but not until next semester. You know the girl I usually sit with at lunch? Hair color changes once a month?"

"I call her 'cool hair girl.' She kind of scares me."

Tyler snorts, and focuses on turning a corner safely before he assures Josh. "Dude, she's totally nice. Now, your _girlfriend—_ she scares me."

"That's fair. She's kind of intimidating if you don't know her. Actually... she's intimidating even if you _do_ know her. She's kind of a bitch, but I like her."

"'Kind of' doesn't even cover it, bro. No offense."

"Watch it." Josh scoffs and gives Tyler a _look._

"What? She fuckin' yelled at me one time because I bumped into her and accidentally smudged her stupid lipstick up since she decided to fix it in the middle of the freaking hallway. I mean, at _least_ do it in the bathroom like every other girl in the school."

"You have a point, but still. Shut up."

"Why are you even with her anyways? It's probably the gay in me speaking, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. She's terrible and although you're kind of dumb, you're still sorta nice."

"She's pretty and she's easy. That's why I was with her at first. Now... I dunno. She's my first girlfriend and would probably throw a fit if I broke up with her."

"Gee, that sounds healthy."

Tyler gets another glare out of him.

\---

Tyler's home life isn't exactly what Josh expected. Sure, he has a nice house, and nice things, but as soon as they're inside, Tyler sighing, rolling his eyes, and kicking his shoes off. He stuffs his keys into one of his shoes before he's stepping further into the house, shouting, "Zack! Come finish your homework!"

Josh notices that there's what looks like, y'know, a homework assignment spread out across the coffee table in Tyler's living room. He remains silent as he follows the other boy.

"Think you can sit tight for about half an hour? Dad's in London for a thing and Mom's probably off having a 'white wine night' with her friends or something like that, which means I need to cook something for my siblings to eat."

"Uh. Sure. Why isn't your mom home or something, though?"

"Wine is more fun than taking care of an eleven year old, an eight year old, and a five year old. I mean, why would she do that when she could push it off onto me?" Tyler grunts as hes standing up on the tips of his toes, trying to reach a pan from off of a shelf.

Josh is tall. Josh is almost six _feet_ tall. Josh could easily grab the pan for him, so he does.

"Well, since you're apparently helpful for once, think you could get me bread, mayo, and the sharp cheddar from the fridge?"

"Grilled cheese?"

"It's better than nothing, and I need to save as much time as I can since I need to help you with your audition thingy, then get you home, and be in bed by midnight."

"I mean, I'm pretty low maintenance. If it'd save you the trouble, I can just spend the night...? My dad probably wouldn't care. I think he's working tonight anyways." Josh shrugs as he's closing Tyler's fridge with his hip, cheese and mayo in hand. He sets the items down on the counter before grabbing a loaf of bread, and handing it to the other boy.

"What about your mom?" Tyler's rooting through a drawer for a butter knife, then he's reading up and into a cabinet for five plates.

"She died about four years ago. Breast cancer and all that."

"Oh. Yikes." Tyler winces. "I always figured you had some picture perfect nuclear family."

"Nah. I didn't have one before she died either. It's cool, though. I'm usually not at home anyways. I'm always over at someone's house. The last time I was home for more than a night or two was during the summer, and only because everyone I'm friends with were vacationing." Josh ends up sitting on the island while he watches Tyler put five sandwiches together.

"Your dad doesn't care?"

"As long as I'm safe, fed, and at school on time, he doesn't care about what I do. In a way I appreciate the leniency, but sometimes I wish he'd act like he cared more. Of course, Debby always tells me that I should be grateful that he isn't breathing down my neck all the time like her parents are, and that I should be grateful that I'm allowed to come see her almost whenever I want."

"Eh. She gives me gross vibes, no offense. Whenever my dad isn't off on business trips to wherever the fuck, he's in charge of taking care of anyone. He's kind of strict so I don't mind when he's gone."

"What kind of strict?"

"Like, 'Don't back talk or you're getting ten across the ass with a belt.' That kind of strict."

Josh winces. "He actually...?"

"Of course. I don't have daddy issues for nothing." Tyler looks over his shoulder and winks a bit, and Josh huffs instead of giving him one of his usual annoyed reactions. "He's a good dad and I love him, but he's an asshole. Mom's not much better. I don't give a shit when she's home, because when she is home, she's plastered half the damn time and there's been times where our neighbors have called cops on her since she likes to scream at us. She's mean."

"I mean, my dad isn't home much, but he's working, and when he's not, he's super nice."

"Maybe next time I'll go over to your house." Tyler smiles a little sadly. By now, he's finished putting the sandwiches together, and he's pouring a cap full of vegetable oil into the pan.

\---

"As much as I love ELO," Tyler starts as he and Josh are entering the basement of his house, "We're scrapping that idea."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Jenna's a sucker for West Side Story, and she's also a sucker for non traditional casting, _so,_ I was thinking me and you could do a duet. Being buddy-buddy with one of her top actors never hurts." Tyler rifles through a filing cabinet before finding the folder he's looking for. He leafs through _that_ for a few minutes before finding the sheet music for _Tonight._ "Do you know how to read sheet music?"

"Yeah. I was in band in middle school."

"Awesome. So, you don't have to memorize that, meaning I'd recommend taking the sheet music with you to your audition. Also, given that it's drama, you're gonna have to act. Tony and Maria were soulmates. Star crossed lovers, if you will. If we do that duet, we can't be acting all stiff and awkward."

"How would I act like you're my fucking soulmate?"

"That's the thing. I'm not your soulmate. I'm Maria, _Tony's_ soulmate."

"And why do you get to be Maria?"

"Because I know this song like the back of my hand, and I can actually hit her high notes. Speaking of... sing something."

Josh blanks. He hasn't ever sung in front of anyone before. He voices that thought as well.

"So, you're going to audition for drama, whereas you can't act and you can't sing in front of someone?"

"Stop being mean to me, man. I just wanted to take wood shop, not... all of this."

"I'm not being _mean._ Do you have any songs you're good at singing?"

"There's plenty."

"What's the first one that comes to mind?"

"... Wonderwall."

Tyler blinks slowly before a long, drawn out snort, lets loose from his nose. "Wonderwall?"

"What? It's a good song, memes aside." Josh shrugs.

"Alright, sing it."

"What if someone hears me?"

"Dude, I practically live in a mansion, and almost all the rooms are soundproof. Anyways, my siblings are probably watching Spongebob or something. If they did hear you, they wouldn't care."

It takes another ten minutes of bickering before Josh caves.


	4. Chapter 4

"Jock-block is good at singing," Tyler informs his lunch table as he's sitting down the day after Josh had come over. "Like... I didn't know he had it in him. I mean, obviously I'm better than him, because he lacks my years of experience, but... He has potential."

"How good, though? Like, you good, me good, or Pete's talking voice good?"

"My talking voice better be at the top of that list, Forehead."

"Like... Probably a little better than Ryan, if we're talking objectively. Ryan has a slightly odd nasal quality that I wasn't overly fond of, but Josh isn't that nasally, and he doesn't have to try ten thousand times to get the pitch right."

"Is he any better at acting?" Ashley's reaching across the table as she says this so she can take the milk bottle from Tyler's lunch tray. "Last I heard he sucked."

"A little bit. I gave him a few basic pointers. He's good enough that I think Jenna's going to let him join, but I don't see him playing opposite of you in Romeo and Juliet any time soon."

"Are we all going to go watch his audition? I kind of hope he chokes." Pete's scratching at a place high up on his back, acting casual as he looks back and forth between everyone.

"Why do you hope that?" Tyler pouts. "He's kind of cute. If he does choke, I hope it's slowly. I kind of like watching people crash and burn, but not all at once."

"Because. He's a spoiled brat. For _once_ I just want to see him not get every single thing he wants."

"Pete's assumptions about Jock-block's personal life aside--I heard his girlfriend is going to be there. Her locker is near mine, and I overheard her talking to him, saying something about how she's going to go to that audition to 'support' him. The way she said 'support' gave me the creepy-crawlies." Ashley is fake-shivering.

"She's going to lose her fucking mind, then. I talked him into singing _Tonight_ with me and doing a different scene from West Side Story."

\---

"I can't do this if she's watching me!" Present time, Josh is whispering that to Tyler, hushed yet sharply. They're in the auditorium, _backstage,_ and Tyler's trying to convince him that no one's going to care.

"Why not?"

"She's going to think I'm gay or something because I'm doing that song and scene with you!"

"She's your girlfriend. She should know better than anyone else that you _aren't_ gay." _He's totally gay._ "Anyways--when is it such a bad thing to be gay?"

"It's _not,_ but not everyone else thinks that way."

"Just sing the fucking song, and if she says anything, then fuck her. I've heard your voice, and you're great. Your acting could still use some work, but we're sixteen. We still have some time to get that figured out."

\---

Debby sits in her chair that's almost smack dab in the middle of the auditorium, arms and legs crossed, perfectly filled in eyebrows raised ever so slightly, occasionally blowing bubbles with her gum as her calculative gaze remains focused on the stage before her. She taps her nails against her arm, and her demeanor doesn't falter in the slightest, even as she's watching her boyfriend step onto the stage with that skinny gay kid from drama. (She doesn't actually know whether or not he's really gay, but she figures he is.)

 _Why are they up there together...? Josh told me that the gay kid already auditioned._ Her eyebrows slowly furrow in confusion, and she only realizes what's going on as the gay kid starts singing. She recognizes the number from her _Broadway_ phase, which mostly consisted of her watching _West Side Story_ and _Chicago_ over and over for, like, three months. She wasn't that committed.

She feels jealousy and anger light up in her gut as the gay kid has a hand on Josh's cheek. She knows that logically she shouldn't be angry--they're just acting out a scene from _West Side Story,_ but she doesn't trust the gay kid. Something about him rubs her the wrong way. He's too _smart_ for her liking--too smart to be friends with Josh.

She likes Josh because he's dumb--plain and simple. He's dumb and blindly follows her, doing whatever she says, bending over backwards, even spending money he doesn't have to make her happy. This gay kid is already ruining that, if the little fiasco from yesterday has to say anything. (The fiasco being Josh turning down a blowjob, which he's never done before.)

Her nails dig into her arm as she watches Josh mimic the gay kid's actions, putting a hand on _his_ cheek as well. It's too intimate, even if it's acting, and, alright, she knows Josh--knows that he has no problem with _queers,_ really, if you excuse the appropriate amount of ignorance he has--and _god,_ this shouldn't be bugging her, but it _is._ She doesn't like the chemistry the two boys on stage have with each other, and her dislike for said chemistry grows as the audition goes on.

\---

Tyler lives out the rest of his week in blissful ignorance, up until the next Monday when the list of everyone who actually got into the drama club gets posted on the Clubs & Activities cork board.

_I'm, yet again, the captain of that sinking ship. Not like I expected anything different._ _Freshman, freshman--oh, yay, Josh got in--Ashley, freshman, and--oh boy--Brendon's ex! Can't wait for him to pitch a fit after he sees this. Sarah's nice, though. I'll hit him if he's mean. Anyways... I don't think Dan's a freshman, but he hasn't been in drama before... And--wait... Oh, god no._

Tyler scrubs at his eyes for a minute or two and blinks numerous times just to make sure nothing is in his eyes, to make sure there's nothing obscuring his vision, or a way he could be hallucinating.

_Deborah Ann Ryan._

_Why the fuck did she join drama? She has_ no reason _to be in drama, and there's_ no way _she could be good enough to actually get in to drama in the first place. Is Jenna deaf? Is Jenna blind? What the fuck?_

\---

"Have any of you read the list Jenna posted on the cork board?" It's lunch time, meaning it's gossip in hushed whispers time, and Tyler hopes he's the only one who's seen the list, because he wants the satisfaction of telling everyone.

"I had a dentist appointment this morning," Pete tells him.

"And my morning classes are on the other side of the school, so no."

"Brendon?"

"Nah, man. I was late and didn't have time."

"Alright, so... There's a bunch of freshman, which is totally expected, but... You know who else got in?"

One of them grunts in a way that signals for Tyler to get the fuck on with it.

"Jock-block's girlfriend. _She_ joined."

"Oh, come the fuck _on._ We're going to be busy enough with you and Brendon getting into pissing contests over who gets to play Danny Zuko this year, and now we have to deal with _her?"_

"Ash, chill. What if she's cool? What if she's good at acting?"

"She's a _cheerleader."_ Ashley looks _livid,_ and Pete's already trying to play mediator.

"And the Josh kid is a football player, but he ain't half bad. Maybe the glass is half full, yeah?"

"That doesn't change the fact that she's fucking evil."

\---

The first drama club meeting is... something. Tyler's near the back, arms and legs crossed, watching everyone with a critical eye. Josh is a few minutes early, and ends up sitting next to him, muttering something about not knowing anyone else and not wanting to look awkward. It draws a chuckle out of Tyler, but he remains quiet.

Even of the first day, everyone's split up into their little cliques. Brendon's sitting with his crew from last year, with the addition of Ryan's replacement, whose name Tyler has yet to figure out. (He's tall, he's skinny, and he's pretty.) There's another addition to Brendon's group, and it's an addition Tyler wasn't quite expecting. Dan Pawlo-something or other is sitting with them as well.

All of the stage managers are sitting in their own circle, quietly chatting and giving all of the actors slightly dirty looks. _I bet Patrick's telling them some of the horror stories of last year. Drama Club Horror Story. FX is quaking._

"Dude, it's the first day... How is everyone already in their own groups...?" Josh apparently has noticed it as well.

"It happens. All of the stage managers tend to stick together, then Brendon has his own little legion of followers. Of course, there's what I like to call the 'plastics' of drama, and at the moment..." Tyler squints at the group of girls he sees, and rattles off their names, some of which not being their real names, but the point stands. "Pete's girlfriend, Pete's _ex-_ girlfriend, cool goth girl that's always hovering around the tall guy that Brendon's hanging off of, Brendon's ex girlfriend, and, last but not least, the queen of all of them... That role belongs to Ashley."

"Which one is the girlfriend and ex girlfriend?"

"Pete's? The pretty one with the, like, blonde highlights is his current girlfriend, and the one that looks like she's still stuck in 2007 is Ashlee, with two e's, and she's a total bitch. No one likes her. I mean, I'm sure she's nice, but she's only ever been mean to me, so she's on my shit list. Brendon's ex is the, like... You see the uber goth girl? She's the slightly less goth one."

"Oh shit. And Ashley, with a y, is the cool blue hair one, right?"

"Yep. She's a sweetheart, though. Actually, they're all pretty nice, if I'm honest. They're just... fake-nice sometimes."

"Got you. What about you? Do you have a group?"

"Not really. I mean, at the moment, you're the only one hovering around me, but it's not really hovering, because I don't think you're trying to kiss my ass. Pete's not here yet, though, and I figure he's going to be up my ass, or up his girlfriend's ass. Hopefully not literally, though."

Josh snorts, and he's about to say something else, but he stops dead in his tracks as _Debby's_ walking in. Actually, everyone quiets down. Debby doesn't realize that, like, literally no one likes her.

Tyler's the first to speak between him and Josh, just simply saying, "Huh."

She strides towards Josh immediately, not faltering in the slightest. "What are you doing here?" Josh asks her.

She smiles in this fake-sweet way that actually seems pretty genuine, and just says, "I wanted to support you." Tyler can just _sense_ how untrue that is. He doesn't know why she's actually here, but whatever reason that is, it is _not_ to support Josh.

She knows exactly what she's doing, though. She's smart. Tyler will indulge Ashley, Pete, and Brendon when they all talk about how stupid she is, but as she stands before him, looking sweet and innocent as she waits for Josh to sputter out whatever dumb response he's going to give her, he can just _tell_ that she's not as stupid as she lets on.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what if instead of "it gets better" people just said "it gets gayer"

"We need to get our yearly camping trip out of the way before it gets too cold," Brendon's stating the minute everyone's piled into Ashley's cramped pickup. He's in the front seat with her, since he's her favorite, whereas Tyler's crammed in the backseat with Pete. (it's not really even a backseat--just the space behind the front seat. Hell, there isn't even an actual seat back there.)

"Who all is coming this year? Is it going to be everyone and their respective partners like last year, or is it going to be the four of us like it was in May?" Tyler leans forward, throwing his arms over Brendon's shoulders, mostly to try and annoy him.

The boy just grabs Tyler's wrists, though, and holds onto them while he talks. "I, personally, was thinking of inviting that Dallon kid. He's cute, and he's kind of funny." He shrugs nonchalantly. "Pete's probably going to invite Meagan--am I right?" Brendon turns his head to catch Pete's eye.

"Maybe. I dunno. Might just drag Patrick along, since he's my best friend. No offense to Meagan, but she kind of whines and complains a lot, and I don't think I can stand a weekend of that." He shrugs. "Hey, Ash—do you have any new boyfriends or girlfriends?"

"Nope." She shakes her head, and waits until after she's turned a corner to speak more. "Similar to what I do whenever both Brendon and I are single at the same time, I'm going to sit next to him, quietly bitching about all of the couples, and doing that weird best friend thing that creeps everyone out."

"What's the best friend thing?" Tyler asks.

"Just, like, being weirdly in sync and almost always on the same page about things. Nothing _too_ extreme."

"Ah. Would it be sacrilege if I asked Josh to tag along?"

"Possibly. He's kind of a dick."

"Actually, not really. He's pretty nice, if I'm honest. He came over the night before his, like, audition, and we talked. He's a lot more chill than you guys think he is. He's sort of a dumb ass, but that's alright."

"What kind of a dumb ass, though? Like, me running through the senior hall naked kind of dumb ass, or Pete taking a math test dumb ass?"

"More like he's not a very good judge of character. I mean, he's dating Debby."

"Yeah, but she's just some dumb, bimbo cheerleader. _Head_ cheerleader, actually, and he's the quarterback. It makes sense that they're together."

"She treats him like crap, though, and he puts up with it. Like I said—poor judge of character."

\---

Tyler sits next to Josh during their homeroom class the next day. Josh gives him a weird look, probably wondering why the hell he's sitting there. "What are you doing this weekend?"

Josh shrugs. "The usual."

"So, you're not busy?"

Josh thinks for a moment before shrugging again as he opens a notebook and clicks a pen. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, some of us from drama are gonna go camping this weekend, and I wondered if you wanted to tag along."

"Who all is going?" _Is he actually considering it? Holy shit._

"I know, for sure, that it's going to be me, Brendon, Ashley, and Pete. There's a few others who might come, but they're both cool."

"And what does 'camping' mean? Like..."

"Have you ever gone camping."

"Well, no, but is it just that—camping?"

"I mean..." Tyler lowers his voice a bit. "We're probably going to get stoned the first night we're there, but otherwise it's just... camping."

"I don't have a tent or anything, though." Josh frowns a little bit, and scribbles in the corner of his notebook page to make sure his pen is working.

"It's cool. I have two. I have a big one, then I have a smaller one. The big one can fit, like, four people, but the small one is good enough for one or two. How about it, though? Do you wanna go?"

"Is it this weekend?"

"Well, yeah. Like, we're leaving as soon as school is out on Friday, and we're coming back on Sunday. Since there's gonna be seven people, at most, we're probably going to take two cars, so you can ride with me, if you want."

"Who else would ride with you?" _He's full of questions. Jeez._

"Probably just you. I don't like being crammed into a car with more than four people, so, like... Yeah. Me, you, two hours of whatever shit music I have CDs of, and no cell signal."

"Are you sure you want me to come? Your friends don't like me."

"Oh, fuck them. They're just, like, bitter at everything. They'll warm up to you. I mean, _I_ like you, so it's only a matter of time, man," Tyler assures him with a kind smile and a pat on the back.

"Hm... Alright. I'll go."

\---

Tyler takes Josh home on Friday afternoon, and helps him pack.

"What all should I bring with me?"

"Bring your phone just in case. I have car chargers and all that. Um. Bring a few changes of clothes, and a few pairs of shoes. Trust me on that one. Bring some pillows and a blanket or two with you. I mean, I have some pillows and blankets with me, but you'll probably want some for yourself. Also, before we head out, we're stopping at a store to get some snacks."

"Why snacks?"

"I mean... I'd prefer not to starve to death. Also, I'm going to get stoned, probably, and when I'm high, I like inhaling everything I see." Tyler shrugs, and gladly takes two of the shirts Josh hands him and puts them in the bag Josh had set out. They fall into a bout of silence after this.

Tyler sort of likes Josh's house, in a way. It's small, very small. Tyler figures he could probably fit four of Josh's house in his own, but it's kind of nice. It's cozy and kind of homey.

"Am I allowed to partake in illegal activities as well?" Josh quirks a brow at Tyler, who just laughs a little bit.

"If you want. Have you ever...?"

"Nah. Debby smokes that shit, but I've never really been interested. It's not that I don't want to experiment, but I'm just afraid something would happen and then either of us would be too stoned to do anything, so usually I'm just babying her whenever she gets stoned."

"If you wanna try, I can totally lay off and babysit ya. I'm always down to take care of my friends."

"Friends? We're friends? Figured you weren't being for real the other day."

"Of course. I mean, you're not my best friend or anything, and we don't really know each other, but... I'd just like to think that it's safe to say that we're friends. Do you not have any friends?"

"Not really, actually. Everyone assumes popularity comes with being the quarterback, and, sure, I'm dating the head cheerleader, and there's plenty of people kissing my ass, but I don't actually have any real friends. Probably sounds stupid coming from me, but I'm kind of lonely, man."

"Loneliness no more. I'm officially adopting you. You can, like, still hang out with your usual crowd, but if you ever get lonely and need someone to hang out with, feel free to hit me up, man."

"I'm holding you to that, Tyler Joseph."

\---

"So... you guys just... go camping...? No adults...?" They're about ten minutes into the car drive to where they're supposed to be camping at, and Josh is trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, basically. Not like there's going to be any cops, and we can take care of ourselves. One of the last times we went we had a few of the seniors with us, but they're, like, graduated now, so y'know. If you're worried, then don't. We'll be fine."

"I mean, I wasn't worried. It's just... you guys _do things_ and it's cool. My friends are all a bunch of piss-asses who are content with staying within their neighborhoods. It's nice to get out of Columbus for once. I fucking hate sitting on couches, watching TV and scratching my balls waiting for something to happen."

"I feel you. I like going and doing things. I dunno. I mean, sometimes it's cool to just sit at home and chill, but my parents are assholes, and it's just so fucking _boring_ not doing anything."

"Next time you go out of town, or do something, you should invite me. I'm totally on the same page as you."

"I'll keep that in mind. I like going sight seeing, even if it's the same shit over and over. There's also tons of shit to do in Columbus anyways, though. How about the next time I do something other than sitting in my basement watching TV, I'll hit you up."

"Sounds awesome."

\---

"I think this is the spot," Brendon states as he subconsciously adjusts his stance to a pose that's reminiscent of Superman.

Ashley and Pete both agree with him, and Tyler shrugs dismissively before he's asking, "Where are we setting up the tents?"

"Well, logically, we should probably put them somewhere that's, like, relatively _flat."_ Brendon's using his 'I'm being a smart ass' tone as he's scuffing his foot along a spot on the ground in front of him. "I think right here is good for one of them. We have three in total, right?"

"I mean, Tyler brought one for him and the jock," Pete gestures towards Josh, "to share, and we brought two—one for Brendon, Ashley, and the beanstalk," he gestures towards Dallon next, who just sort of looks awkward and out of place, "then one for me and Sir Grouchy."

"Fuck you. I'm not grouchy." Patrick gently whacks Pete upside the head.

"You're just proving his point," Tyler points out dryly. "Should we set up the tents first?"

"Probably. It'd be best to get it done before sun down, which shouldn't be for awhile, but still."

\---

Josh fumbles around as he tries helping Tyler get their tent set up. He hasn't ever gone camping before, meaning he hasn't ever had to set a tent up, so Tyler's pretty much walking him through it.

In a way, Josh kind of admires how Tyler just knows what to do when it comes to setting up their tent. Sure, the other boy has gone camping plenty of times, but Josh's point still stands.

Tyler looks up at him at some point from where he's driving a stake into the ground, and asks, "You excited about camping?"

 _For some reason,_ Josh's cheeks are suddenly turning a tiny bit red, and he gets this weird fluttery feeling in his gut and his heart skips a beat because of the look on the boy's face. He doesn't know what it means, but he does know that he sort of doesn't like it. He doesn't even know if it's a bad feeling, per se, but either way it sets him on edge. He acts like nothing happened, though, and just offers Tyler a bit of a half smile as he responds. "A little bit."


	6. Chapter 6

Tyler's throwing some twigs and some crumpled up paper into the fire that night once everyone else, save for Josh, has retired to their tents. He pushes the twigs and paper around with another stick, one that, thankfully, hasn't managed to catch fire yet, because he wants to get the fire going a little more before it burns out for the night. Josh is sitting in one of the lawn chairs, staring at the fire with half lidded eyes, yawning once in awhile. _He's kind of cute._

"I kind of forgot how stupid weed makes people," Tyler's muttering as he's walking back over to sit in the chair next to Josh. "Trust Brendon to get the kind of shit that turns everyone into dumb asses."

"Doesn't all weed do that?" Josh mumbles as he crosses his arms.

"Nah. There's different strains that do different things. Kind of glad I didn't, like, smoke any."

"Same. Sorry about being a wuss about it earlier."

"It's totally cool, bro. You weren't comfortable, so I wasn't going to force you. Next time Brendon tries peer pressuring you into it, feel free to hit him."

"You guys are kind of mean to him. Any reason for that?"

"It's kind of a meme in our group. Like, alright, his, uh... There was this kid he hung around a lot last year, but no one knows if they were dating, but, like, the point is that he's the guy who started the whole, 'Drag Brendon,' schtick, so since then, everyone just... flips him shit. I mean, he tells us to knock it off when he's not in the mood to deal with it, so it's whatever, I guess."

"Ah." Josh nods.

After five or so minutes of silence, either of them just staring at the fire, Tyler looks over to see Josh rubbing his arms, which look cold. He's shivering a little bit too, so Tyler takes it upon himself to get up and get into his overnight bag to grab his spare sweatshirt. He offers it to Josh.

"Uh. It's--it's cool. You don't gotta." He tries brushing Tyler off.

Tyler's stubborn and persistent, though. "Just take it, man. You're cold, and it's about your size anyways, so don't worry."

Josh makes a tiny little face, but takes the sweatshirt and puts it on nonetheless. It fits him perfectly, which pleases Tyler.

\---

They decide to go to bed (or tent, rather) after the fire dies down, only a few small, flickering flames, which were slowly plunging the two of them into the darkness of the night.

Tyler's pretty much dead to the world once his head hits his pillow, up until he feels another body pressed against his, shivering slightly, and snoring the tiniest bit. He grunts with a little whine as he looks over his shoulder. He sees Josh, who, despite being asleep, looks cold and miserable, so he decides to nudge him awake, and ask, "Are you cold?"

Josh blinks at him a few times, eyes groggy and a little droopy. He sounds slightly embarrassed as he admits that, yeah, he's fucking freezing.

Tyler grunts once again before telling Josh to scoot over a foot or two. He grabs the other boy's blankets from him, and kicks his own off before spreading Josh's blankets over the two of them. After that, he's grabbing his own blanket, and covering the two of them with that one as well, and then he's turning to where he's facing away from Josh, and scooting back until Josh is pretty much spooning him.

Tyler only falls asleep again once he feels Josh's body relaxing and his breathing evening out again, except this time without the shivering, and even without the snoring.

\---

When Josh wakes up, he finds that he's pretty much glued against Tyler's side, head on his chest, still leeching his warmth. He's quick, yet gentle, about getting up and scooting at least three feet away.

_Why did I think it was a good idea to agree to cuddle with him? Ugh. I mean, it was warm, and I gotta admit--it was kind of nice having some sort of physical contact with someone that doesn't have any underlying sexual intentions, but still._

He yawns and stretches, back popping at least a million times as he does so. He's still wearing Tyler's sweatshirt, and he even takes it off for a minute or two before realizing that it's still cold, and that Tyler could deal with Josh wearing it for a few more hours until it warmed up a bit outside.

Once he's more awake, he's scooting towards his bag, and getting out his toothpaste and his tooth brush, plus a bottle of water, the one he specifically packed for brushing his teeth with. He unzips the tent, climbs out as quietly as he can, then zips it right back up, before slipping away and making his way towards the river that they're all camping next to so he can get to brushing his teeth. There aren't many constant things in Josh's life, meaning his morning ritual is _very_ important to him.

Josh yawns a few times while brushing his teeth, staring at the river as he does so. The part they're next to is fairly shallow, and the actual flow of it isn't overly violent. He heard one of them talking about swimming in it today, but he's not sure if it was the drugs speaking, or not. He wouldn't mind swimming in it, though.

He's about a minute into brushing his teeth when he hears a, _"Shit,"_ and the sounds of someone losing their footing and sliding down the steep bit of land that leads to the general area Josh himself is standing in.

It's the tall skinny guy that Brendon spent just about all night hitting on. He mumbles, "You okay?" to him once he's standing and brushing himself off as if nothing happened.

"I'm fine," he says back, already sounding _done_ with the world. "Do you know how to tell someone that you have a girlfriend and that you aren't really interested in their romantic advances?"

Josh can tell by his tone that he isn't looking for an actual answer, but he gives him one anyways, barely understandable around a mouthful of toothpaste. "Just tell him. It's not like I haven't had to tell a few girls to fuck off before. Except... maybe don't tell him to fuck off."

"Brendon's cute, _I guess,_ but I just... am so not interested right now. It's not like I'm straight either, by the way."

Josh nods and goes back to brushing his teeth. He has another minute before he's done.

When he's actually done, tall skinny guy talks to him again. "Why do I get the general vibe that no one here likes you?"

"Probably because they don't. I haven't exactly been overly nice to any of them in the past, and my girlfriend's kind of a bitch to everyone if you haven't noticed."

"I'm new here, dude. Like, I just started going to this school this year."

"And you already have a girlfriend?"

"I've been with her for like a year and a half. She already went to school here when I moved. It just conveniently happened to be the same school as her."

"Oh. Anyways. Ashley _really_ doesn't like me. She kept giving me dirty looks last night, and I mean, I get it, but I'm stuck with you guys until tomorrow afternoon, so you'd think she'd try, like, being nice and all that."

"Fair enough. I'm super against judging people based on whatever bullshit stereotypes that they all judge people by. Part of my moral code. If I had a cigarette, I'd be smoking it. I'm trying to give off that somewhat edgy but cool vibe."

Josh snorts. "Yeah. I'm kind of superficial but it's not on purpose. I try my best."

"You're friends with Tyler, right?"

"I think so. I mean, he said we're friends, but it's whatever. He used to _really_ not like me. I mean, he never tried picking a fight with me last year in the classes we had together, but he never seemed overly enthusiastic to talk to me. I don't actually have a ton of friends, or at least any that I want to hang out with more than once or twice a month."

"Dude, do you have like, fake friends that you hang out with? The kind of friends that you won't be friends with after high school, and you only hang out with them because you need someone to hang out with?"

"God, yeah. That's--that's literally how almost all my friendships are. What's worse is when you feel lonely either way, though. Like... Jeez. I go through all the trouble of surrounding myself with people so I _don't_ feel alone, yet here I am, y'know?"

"I definitely know. A good part of why I like my girlfriend is that I don't feel alone when I'm with her. Like... I dunno. Do you feel that way with your girlfriend?"

"Kind of. I mean, I used to definitely feel like that, but now it's kinda in between. I wish she made me feel not alone." Josh shrugs and kicks a pebble into the river. "How long do you think we got until everyone else is getting up?"

"Ashley was staring at the top of the tent looking dead inside when I got up, so I figure she'll be up before long. Everyone else I'm unsure about."

\---

Josh is sitting on a rock, a dry one, gently kicking his feet in the water, and glancing over to everyone else once in awhile. They're all messing around, laughing and having a good time, and for a few minutes Josh was with them, but he felt out of place, and no one really responded whenever he'd say something, so he decided to mentally say, "Fuck it," and make his way over to the rock he's sitting on now.

By now it's predictable that Tyler ends up making his own way over to where Josh is at, and once he's sitting next to him, he asks him, "Why are you all alone over here?" with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Because I felt left out. Every time I'd say something Ashley would give me a dirty look, Brendon freakin' outright ignored me, and that one guy with the emo haircut and the teeth that are just a little too straight and white would look at me like I just said something super fucked up. You didn't really do anything to defend me either, so I figured fuck you guys, and that I'd just sit here, because I'd rather be alone than have everyone make me feel left out like that."

Tyler hesitates for a moment with a tiny little perplexed frown on his face. "... Oh." He continues to sit there like that for a few more minutes. "I'm sorry, dude. If you wanted, I could talk to them...? I didn't catch any of them doing that to you, and now I feel bad, because I kind of just want you to have a good time."

Josh shakes his head and sighs. "It's fine. I don't want to start shit."

"It wouldn't be starting shit. They were being jerks, and Ashley can hold grudges for eons. Though... I don't know why she'd hold a grudge against you."

"Her and Debby used to be friends before she met you, I think. I dunno what happened between them other than Debby fucking hates her, so she probably doesn't like me since Debby's my girlfriend. That'd be my guess."

"I'll talk to them later."

\---

Just before the sun goes down that day, Tyler hands Josh his phone, and says, "Go plug this into the charger in my car, and probably make yourself look busy for ten minutes or so. I'm gonna talk to everyone," quiet enough so no one else can hear him.

Once Josh is gone, and once Tyler hears his car door shut, he just flat out says what he wants to say. "You guys need to be nicer to him."

Ashley scoffs. "Why? He's just some football playing jerk, and _you're_ the one who invited him. No one else wanted him to come along."

"Because--imagine getting invited somewhere, then everyone's ignoring you or giving you dirty looks whenever you talk. Even if he's a dick, you all could at least have the courtesy to treat him like a person."

"He doesn't even fit in with us. He just sits there looking like an idiot whenever we talk about the stuff we're into." Brendon decides it's his turn to rag on Josh.

"Would it kill you guys to try including him? It's not like anyone talks to him anyways. If I were with a group of people I didn't know who also seemed to hate me for reasons I was unaware of, I wouldn't talk either unless someone else spoke to me first. Even if he's all popular and _cool_ or whatever doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings."

"I don't really get why you guys don't like him either. I talked to him this morning and he seemed nice enough to me. Also, he's kind of funny." Dallon shrugs and sits back in his seat a little bit, arms crossed, as if he were daring someone to challenge him. "I hardly know you guys, yet you don't single me out. I figure he should get the same treatment."

"Exactly!" Tyler's arms fly out to gesture towards the other boy who'd spoken in defense of Josh. "We're all nice to Dallon and Patrick, yet it's okay to be mean to Josh."

"Do you have a crush on him or something? Is that it?" Cue a distasteful tone and look from Pete.

"He's my _friend._ If anyone were treating any of you like this, I'd throw this much of a fit as well, because you guys are my friends too. Like, believe it or not, you three assholes," Tyler gestures towards the three other people in his usual friend group, "are sort of bullying him."

"He bullies us!"

"Name _one_ time."

_Silence._

"See?! He hasn't done shit to any of you!"

\---

No one really makes an effort to talk to Josh, even after Tyler tells them off, so the two of them (Tyler and Josh) tough it out until Sunday morning, which is when they pack their things and head home.


End file.
